Tha Dogg Pound In Concert
The history of West Coast hip-hop would be very different without the beats and rhymes supplied by two of the scene's most influential talents. Formed in 1992 by Kurupt and Daz Dillinger, Tha Dogg Pound have been one of gangsta rap's most iconic acts ever since their debut on Dr. Dre's landmark 1992 album The Chronic.
It was Dr. Dre's idea to put the duo together, having been impressed by the chemistry between the two rising talents. Born in Philadelphia before coming to South Los Angeles and entering the rap game as a teenager, Kurupt became a Death Row recording artist after meeting Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg in 1992. Hailing from the same Long Beach neighborhood as his cousin Snoop, Daz Dillinger began his career as a producer for Suge Knight.
After The Chronic blew up, Tha Dogg Pound maintained their momentum with contributions to Snoop's 1993 debut Doggystyle and the soundtracks for Murder Was the Case and Above the Rim.
Released at the height of the controversies surrounding hardcore hip-hop, Tha Dogg Pound's Dogg Food became one of 1995's biggest albums. Both attacked and acclaimed for its combination of hard-hitting street stories and even tougher G-funk, the album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, sold more than two million copies, and launched club bangers like "Let's Play House" and "New York, New York."
After supplying guest rhymes and production work on such Death Row classics as 2Pac's All Eyez on Me and Snoop's Tha Doggfather, the troubles that surrounded the label led to Kurupt's departure in 1997. Yet he and Daz Dillinger soon demonstrated their prowess as solo acts, both scoring Top 10 hits and gold records for their debut albums Kuruption! and Retaliation, Revenge, and Get Back in 1998.
Over the next two decades, Kurupt and Daz continued to find success both on their own and together. Released on Snoop's Doggystyle label, Tha Dogg Pound's fourth album — Cali Iz Active — signaled a major resurgence when it hit No. 5 on Billboard's R&B charts in 2006 and was certified gold.
Recent years have been just as busy for Tha Dogg Pound. In 2017, they joined Snoop Dogg, Too Short, and many more for the How the West Was Won Tour. In 2018, they returned to venues all across America as guests on the third edition of Snoop Dogg's Puff Puff Pass tour with Warren G and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
